Build Instructions

Thinking about building an autonomous 1/10 scale vehicle? RACECAR/J is derived from the MIT RACECAR, an “open-source powerful platform for robotics research and education”. We have assembly guides, software installation tutorials and as time goes on the library of information will continue to grow. On this page, we have links to the various articles about RACECAR/J gathered into one convenient spot. Here at the RACECAR/J Store you can buy complete kits and parts to build your own RACECAR/J (Currently shipping to the USA only). There are currently two different configurations available. The first configuration is built around the MIT RACECAR 2.5 specification. The second configuration is oriented towards people who want to experiment with different sensor configurations. Here is a list of articles about constructing RACECAR/J:

In the second assembly article, we build up the Platform Decks which are the main mechanical structure for the autonomy sled. The Platform Decks hold the computer, sensors, electronic speed controller and USB hub. In the article, we prepare the deck and attach the USB hub and electronic speed controller. Once complete we mate the Platform Decks to the Traxxas chassis.

In the third assembly article, we mount the IMU to the Platform Deck along with a NVIDIA Jetson Development Kit. We then connect the motor to the electronic speed controller, along with the steering servo wire.

If you are building a MIT RACECAR specification robot, you may find this article useful. Here we go over adding a power connector to the Hokuyo UST-10LX, installing the Hokuyo onto the RACECAR/J Platform Deck, and wiring the Hokuyo to the electronics battery. After assembly, we test against the MIT RACECAR software stack.

If you want a different configuration than the MIT Specification Platforms, you can use the RACECAR/J FlatNose Platforms. In this assembly article, we build up the autonomy sled which holds the Jetson computer, sensors, electronic speed controller and USB Hub.

In this assembly article, we mount the IMU to the FlatNose Platform Deck along with a NVIDIA Jetson Development Kit. We then connect the motor to the electronic speed controller, along with the steering servo wire. This is for the RACECAR/J FlatNose version.

Software Installation

In this article, we cover installation of the software stack which runs RACECAR/J. This includes installation of drivers, udev rules, Robot Operating System (ROS), the MIT RACECAR ROS packages, and environment configuration.

RACECAR/J uses an open source electronic speed controller, called a VESC, to interface the Jetson with the motor and steering. This article goes over programming the VESC to match the RACECAR/J characteristics.

Once RACECAR/J is up and running, this article shows some of the built-in and GUI based tools available to examine the robot's software stack.

YouTube PlayList

RACECAR/J

MIT Summer School RACECAR Lectures

Outro

This list will grow over time. There are currently articles in progress for electronics battery selection and wiring, adding a webcam, and adding an Intel RealSense D435 to the RACECAR. Of course, once we have the hardware running, we will start the programming series. Along with covering special events!